Helium Shortage Means Welders Must Get Creative

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Helium Shortage Means Welders Must Get CreativeBy: Clare Goldsberry02/13/2008 There are a lot of uses for helium ranging from party balloons to magnetic resonance imaging machines to specialized testing equipment and, of course, helium is used as a shielding gas for welding. Although it is the second most plentiful element in the universe, there is irony in the fact that helium is a rare element on earth and, today, there is a shortage of the gas. Since this gas cannot be replenished, the question is to what can be done to replace helium in industrial applications. Welding, in particular, is affected by the shortage of this gas. Helium is inert and, in general, it provides excellent weld metal properties. In gas metal arc welding – MIG welding – gas mixtures enhanced by helium provide arc stability at greater wire feed speeds, and increases weld metal deposition rates when compared to conventional argon/CO2 mixtures. Due to helium’s greater heat conductivity, performance over mild base metal contamination also is improved, and this often helps to eliminate costly rework. Argon/helium enhanced mixtures commonly are applied in MIG welding thick aluminum sections, greater than 12mm. The enhanced mixtures typically increase deposition rates while eliminating the need to perform preheating operations. Additionally, the use of helium enhanced shielding gas mixtures provide an improvement in the penetration profile of the completed weld deposit compared to pure argon or argon/ CO2 blends. Praxair Inc. (www.praxair.com) identifies helium as the preferred shielding gas for laser welding. Praxair says on its Internet site that a pure helium gas shield suppresses the formation of the plasma plume in laser welding and helps to increase laser travel speed while lowering power consumption because of its greater ionization potential compared to argon. High purity helium is a critical gas component used in the manufacturing of the resonator gas mixtures that are commonly used in CO2 lasers. High purity helium enhances gas mixtures that are introduced directly into CO2 laser resonator chambers. Praxair’s technology mixes helium with other high purity gas components that contain carefully controlled levels of moisture and hydrocarbons, and contribute to increased beam quality, greater cutting or welding speed, and lower power levels. The mixtures also offer greater laser up-time. Praxair sells its high purity 5.5 LaserStar helium enhanced gas mixtures to maximize the performance of CO2 lasers. To respond to both of these supplydemand issues, manufacturers of specialty gases for welding are looking at new blends that either use much less helium or no helium at all. Praxair for example, makes a helium free mixture, Stargon, that the company said provides good corrosion resistance for a variety of welding applications including stainless steel and carbon steel. BOC, (www.boc.com) the world’s largest helium supplier that provides nearly 30 percent of the commercially available supply, has imposed quotas on its customers because of the supply-demand imbalance, Kristina Schurr, spokeswoman for BOC, said. The medical and health industries compete with welding for helium which is needed for equipment such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines. Because of the critical health issues related to magnetic resonance imaging, there is less rationing for medical applications than for industrial uses. Gas producers and distributors are reluctant to talk about the helium shortage.Helium is the second most plentiful element in the universe after hydrogen.It comprises about 25 percent of the mass of the atoms in the universe, and first was identified in 1868 as a component of the sun when sunlight was analyzed through a prism. Scientists who analyzed the sunlight speculated that the element was a metal, so named it after the Greek word for sun – Helios – combined with the chemical suffix – ium. Scientists later discovered it was an inert gas. While it is abundant on a cosmic level, helium is rare on Earth. It was found in 1895, in uranium deposits, and later was identified, in trace amounts, as a component of natural gas. Today, helium primarily is distilled from natural gas sources. Prices for helium were about $2,500/cu ft in 1900, and fell to 1.5-cents/cu ft by 1941. http://www.weldingmag.com/323/Issue/...se/78314/Issue
Reply:I noticed Wal Mart still sells the throw away (about the size of the old freon tanks) of helium.Would they be of any use?
Reply:I have since been told that the Helium at Wal-Mart ,and most other "balloon helium",  has about 20% Oxygen added to it so kids won't suffocate when they inhale it.   Good for kids,bad for welding.
Reply:You need a big plant to produce helium... only giant country have the right size plant...Govt. program seem the one drainning the gas beside hospital...Unit in my fab shop dept:my good hand and team that trust me...A lone welder make art... a village full of welder make Miracles...
Reply:Show that to the Germans.  They were forced to use hydrogen in their airships in the twenties because the US owned all the helium and wouldn't sell it to them.  We all know how that ended in New Jersey one day.
Reply:http://www.helium.com/tm/666669/sinc...orst-pollutershttp://www.defense-update.com/events...nster.htm#morehttp://www.metacafe.com/fplayer/918132/secretly_built_zeppelin.swf
[url=]Secretly Built Zeppelin[/url] - [url=]The best bloopers are a click away[/url]edit:[ame]http://www.metacafe.com/watch/918132/secretly_built_zeppelin/[/ame] Attached ImagesLast edited by Mandau; 03-07-2008 at 07:54 PM.Reason: add link picture wont workUnit in my fab shop dept:my good hand and team that trust me...A lone welder make art... a village full of welder make Miracles...
Reply:Originally Posted by BeezerShow that to the Germans.  They were forced to use hydrogen in their airships in the twenties because the US owned all the helium and wouldn't sell it to them.  We all know how that ended in New Jersey one day.
Reply:The Germans had and still have a lot of great ideas when it comes to science and technology. Looks like they got a little ahead of themselves there.
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWIts been proven that the fire was not a result of the hydrgen in the Hindenburg. The germans knew this at the time and its been recently rediscovered. It was most likely started by a bad electrical ground between the fabric outer skin and the alum. frame. This fabric was painted with an aluminized paint to reflect heat to reduce gas expansion. Besides aluminum the paint also contained ferous oxide ie rust. These are the 2 main components in thermite used by the military to start fires and the solid rocket boosters used by NASA. Nothing like painting your large highly flamible gas bag with electricly sensitive rocket fuel and then fly it in a thunder storm!
Reply:Wow, that big craft is.........a bit nutty and different!  Cool vid man, I sure wouldn't be the one flying that on its maiden voyage!Have a Jeep Cherokee?  Click Here!
Reply:"At some point, regardless of the source of ignition, the hydrogen took over"Thanks gnm109.   That statement was going through my mind as I read DSW's reply.  That's not to say he's not correct, but once it started, does it matter any more?
Reply:Sorry, guys. I guess my point is that Hydrogen has gotten a bad rap since then. Yes the gas ignited but as H is lighter then air it would burn above the Hindenberg not froward as you see in the film. That is the fabric igniting. Hydrgen is safer than gasoline fumes, it rises so will quickly disipate unless enclosed. Many people are scared to death of Hydrogen and yet think nothing of driving around with 1/8 tank of gas in the summer or storing a small amount of gas in a 5 gal gan in a hot garage. Like so many things nowdays, it's all hype and little fact. Like radiation, all of us who weld are regularly exposed to radiation of one sort or another. I don't see all of us turning into mutants.. Hmm, maybe I'd better rethink that statement in light of some guys I know..... It might be nice however to produce flames on command, think of the savings in Acet for preheating welding and cutting, or the ability to freeze things so you would always have a cold beer!